Making Sherlock Holmes Cry
by Belen09
Summary: Clarence Throckbottom, host of 'First Story', decided one day to punish that irritating Sherlock Holmes; no, he wouldn't kill him but he would make sure that he 'suffered'. He decided to do this by hurting Dr. John Watson - obviously Holmes' best friend. Bad idea.
1. Chapter 1

Making Sherlock Holmes Cry

Clarence Throckbottom, host of 'First Story', decided one fine day to punish that irritating Sherlock Holmes; no, he wouldn't kill him but he would make sure that he 'suffered'. He decided to do this by hurting Dr. John Watson – obviously Holmes' best friend. Bad idea.

OOOOO

A.N. I do hope that there isn't a news program called 'First Story' or a host named 'Throckbottom' – failing that, this is of course, fiction. :D! Comes from eating too much 'cookies and cream' ice cream.

OOOOO

Once upon a time – as these things go – there was an investigative reporter named Clarence Throckbottom who had a television program called 'First Story'. He thought that he was particularly clever, and was able to come up with theories and information about world events and ordinary life that were cogent and timely, a sage commentator that people should highly regard. And that he should get a salary deserving of such a fine individual. Throckbottom's co-workers, on the other hand thought that he was a major pain in the ass and needed to be 'taken down a bit'.

It happened this day that 'First Story' had - at the behest of the local constabulary - secured an interview with the famous London-based detective, Sherlock Holmes – something that the man himself was not very keen on, but that D.I. Lestrade had implored him 'to do' seeing as an old friend of Lestrade's was in serious trouble, and maybe, just maybe, a word from Holmes that backed up some evidence might be helpful. The crime involved was a nasty bit of business – slavery, drugs, with a brace of murders 'thrown in' – but not relevant in any manner to what happened next.

(Dr. John Watson had in his blog regarding his unusual friend, stated that Sherlock Holmes was ignorant regarding some of the most common facts of life, such as whether the Earth went around the Sun or perhaps the other way around. This so-called ignorance had given Throckbottom the mistaken impression that he could easily control the mercurial detective, and that another coup of investigative reporting was imminent.)

Also on this mid-week day came word of a terrorist incident – unfolding as the broadcast was aired. Someone – male – had taken three or four people hostage and had demanded that a letter be made public (some commentators had taken to calling it a manifesto – an escalation of the matter as it turned out.) The letter apparently involved someone by the name of Fatima, which the authorities assured everyone in the viewing public, was of Islamic derivation. Throckbottom 'ran' with this assumption and made comments that 'wiser minds' would regard as 'racist' or at the very least ignorant in a religious sense. Normally, these comments would be left to settle, and hopefully sink into oblivion, as they so rightfully deserved. (Watson later made the comment that 'Throckbottom was a bloody dick' which pretty much summed it up.)

However this day, this hour – Sherlock Holmes was currently 'on set' – and as soon as the host made his pronouncements about the incident, the detective immediately spoke up and said, 'Wrong!' He said this in what the host thought was a most imperious voice – actually it wasn't, he was only stating what he saw as 'a correction' to the facts to which everyone else had applied the erroneous conclusion.

The 'Fatima' in the incident referred to 'Our Lady of Fatima', a particular miraculous vision (or appearance – as thought by the more devout) of the Blessed Virgin Mary, beloved of Roman Catholics. There was some controversy regarding this occurrence – regarding secrets that were 'passed on to the pope' – thus leading to long-lasting desires by some to know what was said in private. In point of fact, the 'terrorist' was in truth, a mentally deranged Irish monk who in his delirium thought this action might release this hidden information.

(The 'incident' was resolved soon after, without further damage to the people involved – although nothing more was spoken of the monk – it is assumed that he got needed treatment – although religious zealots are a difficult group to treat as much of what they believe is tolerated by society. In ancient, prehistoric times, the development of 'government' proceeded hand-in-hand with that of 'religion' – 'the king' and 'the priest' worked together to control their world. Not much has changed in the several millennia since then . . .)

Any explanation, however reasonable, was not sufficient for Clarence Throckbottom; Sherlock Holmes had embarrassed the too-sensitive man, and Throckbottom decided that he would pay for his 'crime'.

OOOOO

A.N. Actually this occurred in the seventies – when I am not sure – but I remember it as I was going to work, and as was my habit – read the newspaper front page in the box in front of where I worked. It was reported that the authorities thought it was Islamic extremists; I thought – 'Oh they have this so wrong!' – It wasn't reported until later that my understanding of the situation was correct – such was the pre-cell phone era . . . but now 'back to the story' . . .

OOOOO


	2. Chapter 2

Making Sherlock Holmes Cry Chapter Two

See Previous

OOOOO

Clarence Throckbottom was furious; no one was allowed to 'up-stage' him, and now this Sherlock Holmes person had done it on live television, and in a subject that heretofore he had thought was his specialty and inviolate for additional comment. And the bastard had done it 'almost without thought' – tossing the comment out, while supposedly being permitted to opine on a totally different unrelated matter. Throckbottom was incandescent in his fury. He would make sure that Holmes would 'pay'.

The problem was - that even to someone with such a massive ego as Throckbottom - this 'Holmes fellow' was clearly 'a darling of the police' – after all, a senior police official – Gregory Lestrade – had vouched for his expertise. (Although the host of 'First Story' wondered how familiar truly they were as Holmes kept referring to the Detective Inspector as 'Graham'.) It would not 'be good' to either attack him intellectually, or through means of the man's reputation. (About five years previously – a lifetime in the entertainment business - the fellow had been the subject of some controversy. He had 'come back from the dead' – which made him even more difficult to 'corral'. No, any punishment would have to accrue to an associate of the man. Throckbottom had just the man in mind.

Clarence Throckbottom was a coward, as well as a bully. The combination meant that he was perfectly willing to hire other people to 'do his dirty work'. He knew people who were willing to do almost anything for the right amount of money; it had been utter coincidence that he had not been responsible for anyone's death. He had, however, commissioned the arson of several properties as well as some serious vandalism. What he planned to have happen to Dr. John Watson was a serious step 'up or down' depending on your view point.

Throckbottom had discovered quite by accident that Watson was married to Holmes. While waiting in the green room, Holmes had been visited by a short man with blond-grey hair, who seemed impervious to his 'superior' attitude – Louise, Throckbottom's assistant smiled without obvious reason at the proposed 'target' – this Watson was Holmes' personal blogger – he wrote and typed up the case files that apparently captivated the reading public. She actually said that the man was warm and funny, and that she wished that she had a 'love like that'. Intolerable.

And then, just as Holmes was about to receive his final instructions about the appearance – Watson leaned forward, clearly getting 'on his toes' and kissed the detective on the cheek. He blushed just a bit, and smiled, saying 'John'. The latter replied, 'Knock 'em dead!' He left the area, but left Throckbottom with an impression of his true importance.

After the program, Clarence thought about this 'John Watson' for some time, and did some research into who John Watson had been in the past – and in the present. (It might be noted that a common failing of people doing research of any kind, is that you will find often what you are looking for, but ignore things that you are unaware of.) John Watson was Holmes' husband, blogger, and occasionally still worked as a doctor; he had been a soldier, but in Throckbottom's mind that had been ages ago and hardly relevant to the current situation, other than to note he had been a surgeon . . . That gave this utterly miserable excuse of a human being an idea . . .

OOOOO


	3. Chapter 3

Making Sherlock Holmes Cry Chapter Three

See Previously

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John Watson had watched the production of the television show from the side of the area where the cameras had been set up. He could have sat in the audience and had a 'better' view, but he was focused on watching Sherlock, and Greg Lestrade explain what had occurred during the slavery investigation. That part had gone reasonably straight-forward. Sherlock had 'nailed' the suspects, who had compounded matters by murdering people who 'got in their way.' That his husband could have joined them in being dead had been a real possibility, but he, John Watson, in the course of events – managed with some difficulty to keep his love in one piece, and the case was solved . . .

It being live television – the business with 'the terrorist' broke in at the 'tail end' of the retelling of the case that Sherlock and Greg had been invited to comment on. It was with some considerable restraint that John Watson managed not to speak up during the reporting of the incident. John had been 'raised Catholic' – that is to say, that while he was not currently of that faith – events in his life being what they were – John was steeped in the traditions and knowledge of Catholicism, at least as remembered as a child and teenager.

(Why he didn't consider himself Catholic anymore . . . that was best described in regards to being 'on the cusp' of societal changes, and his own personal history. When you combine his parents who believed in rigid moral standards that they themselves didn't adhere to, his own experiences in war and peace, and a love that encompassed a genius who must have been 'kissed by the creator' – John Watson's religious beliefs were 'fluid'. His moral code wasn't – he believed in right and wrong –but only he knew the exact details, and thought about it on a constant basis.)

When John heard Sherlock say, 'Wrong!', he almost did himself an injury not rushing over and congratulating him. He didn't think that a non-Catholic – not to mention an utterly non-religious person such as Sherlock would have any knowledge of that arcane subject. The last person connected to that miracle had died within the past few decades, if he remembered correctly. Who knew what it all meant – especially since it involved ultra-orthodox religious beliefs? Watson did notice that Throckbottom looked decidedly peeved; Sherlock had 'stepped on' his pronouncements about terrorism, and gave the impression that he thought the host an idiot. Nothing new there. (John sighed; he would have to mention to Sherlock AGAIN, about making people angry.)

Greg had the 'normal reaction', which was along the lines of 'what kind of nonsense is that?' If you weren't in on the 'joke' it did seem like a bunch of 'hooey' – John figured that he would have to treat his friend to a couple of pints of beer just to explain. Sherlock of course, was beyond that. Mass hallucinations being what they were – the examples in history were easily found. Especially religious examples. He supposed that his husband would find that aspect of interest.

Throckbottom's response was typical; he 'huffed' at Sherlock's suggestion and then ended the program with an aggravated 'We'll see about that!' Holmes and Lestrade exited the studio with nary a thank you from anyone, and John brought up the rear, half-listening to Greg saying something about, 'That could have gone better . . .' He suspected that the later confirmation that Sherlock's suspicions were correct made 'old' Throckbottom livid, and it would be 'a cold day in Hell' before Holmes or Lestrade would be invited back on 'First Story'.

The next few weeks were relatively quiet; the criminal class in London had apparently restricted themselves to the more prosaic variety of offences – of course this meant that Sherlock was again 'climbing the walls' at Baker Street, an activity that thankfully John got to avoid watching on a regular basis as he was doing some locum work at the clinic – one of the doctors there had a seriously ill parent and they had requested 'family leave' until the situation was resolved, probably not happily. Watson was pleased that he could assist, although Sherlock seemed just a bit upset, asking 'what if he needed him' – John replied calmly, reminding him that they had discussed this before 'in detail' – 'As you surely recall, love . . .'

John Watson was a doctor; this wasn't a profession like being a banker, or retail clerk, or even dare he say, like a consulting detective – although Holmes could claim that his skills were vital – they still were generally 'after the fact' – where as John was 'in the thick of something' as it happened. (John had got the 'doctoring bug' early – as an eight year old he announced that his older sister Harriet had the measles – was roundly ignored – until their doctor announced that she had exposed an entire waiting room to the disease. Harriet took his knowledge of her aliment as meaning that he caused the disease; even later finding out that she had herself been exposed to an afflicted classmate didn't really change her opinion of her irritating, younger brother.)

As weeks became several months, the memory of what happened that day in the television studio faded, other than the doctor catching a glimpse during one conversation (more like a declaration) at Baker Street. The drought of cases had ended and at the moment when Holmes was speaking of his reasoning of 'the why' of a locked room death – Watson noticed a 'blurb' crawling across the television screen announcing the cancelation of 'First Story' from the channel's morning line-up. 'Oh look,' he said, not particularly surprised, 'They've cancelled 'First Story'.'

'Do keep up, John. That was a foregone conclusion once the payment scheme was revealed. Throckbottom will be lucky avoiding major prison time.' (Later, John remembered Sherlock as not being vindictive, but guessing his love's emotional state by looking at his expressions was a 'science' of the rarest sort. The situation rated only a small amount of interest, if any.)

OOOOO

Two days later, the morning dawned bright and sunny, with the promise of later warmth, so John Watson – finding himself with a stretch of 'free time' – decided to go for a strenuous walk in the neighborhood surrounding their flat. Donning a good pair of walking shoes, and wearing comfortable jeans and T-shirt (the blue one that he acquired as a result of a case involving an alarm monitoring company – the logo was discrete and diamond-shaped – Sherlock thought it plebian, but John had no such reservations), he headed out at a brisk pace determined to maintain a particular pace, while observing any changes in the environment.

(He had begun doing this kind of thing as a teenager. At his school, John had been recruited partially because of a test that all the upper-level students in the rather large school had been assigned at the behest of the 'government'. The test-takers were handed a map of the city surrounding the school that had 'dots' at certain locations; the test was to mention what physically was at those locations – business name if any – type of building – apparent usage – basically something unique to that building.

When John got the test, he thought, 'Well, this is easy . . .' and began filling out the enclosed answer sheet quickly. There were actually only three or four locations that were problematic, and only one that was hard – a small, white, storage building/garage that he would bet that someone was living in – complete with motorbike that was always illegally parked on the sidewalk. John finished up in good time – perhaps only the third or fourth student to complete the listing.

He was then afforded the opportunity to watch the other students, and began at that point to wonder what exactly was going on. People had been given just shy of an hour to take the exam – John finished in about thirty-five minutes – he wasn't one for dawdling and had participated in knowledge tests at speed before. His fellow students were actually panicking as they attempted to finish the test within the hour.

Several days later, the test results were announced. Watson found to his pleasure that he had 'aced' the test – not that there had been much doubt in his mind, but a perfect score was a definite ego boost. It was, however, a private 'ego boost' as his parents never thought that anything he did was of much use – after all, of what use would 'knowing' your neighborhood 'like the back of your hand' be? If it didn't directly make money they were not interested. His older sister Harriet or 'Harry' was 'the golden child' in their mind – she had been accepted to a prestigious junior management position in a well-regarded company, and would undoubtedly be soon able to keep them comfortable in their old age.

That was the plan. (And in later years, John Watson would say to himself, 'Such a fine plan. But circumstances play havoc with dreams.' His parents would together die in a traffic accident; and Harry bereft of their constant praise, would 'take to drink' to assuage her pain. He would need to support her – and Sherlock never really complained at the expense.) But now, as he regarded the perfect score – it became apparent how unusual it was – only two percent of the class had done so. John was sitting as usual - eating his lunch outside on a bench - when one of the teaching assistants he knew only by sight approached him and said, 'John Watson?'

John remained sitting, but did stop chewing; it had been engrained in him as a child that 'people did not eat while being spoken to', and although his 'chicken salad sandwich with walnuts' was very good, he preferred to speak to whoever was talking to him without having to think about food stuck in his teeth. So he looked at the teaching assistant – who seemed a little upset that he was being regarded so intently; Watson didn't mean anything by it, in later years while still an active duty soldier/doctor, he allowed a visiting ophthalmologist to test his ability to focus on his environment. Sherlock Holmes claims of him 'seeing but not observing' aside – John Watson scored in the 97th percentile in his ability 'to focus'.

The teaching assistant had a little 'side job' – that of guiding likely candidates for inclusion into 'her Majesty's armed forces'. Sometimes it too a bit of arm-twisting, but good, intelligent people were worth the extra effort. John Watson was potentially one of those people. So the TA launched into his carefully-thought out introductory speech and found an amiable listener . . .)

Years later, as John Watson began his 'walk-about' around his neighborhood, he gave a momentary thought to the TA who had boldly walked up to him that fateful day. It would have been too much to say that he would have one day operated on his older fellow officer, but a similar doctor did – saving the man's life – the tentative connection was still there . . . some professions require the best people possible. John Watson by dint of his being able 'to focus' on the matter at hand, (and his skill as a surgeon), was one of those people.

That day, however, someone else was focused on the whereabouts of Dr. John Watson – someone of a much less savory nature.

OOOOO


End file.
